


Happiness Is

by swtalmnd



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Irondad & Spiderson, M/M, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Writin' Dirty 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-25
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-02-04 08:56:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18601243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/swtalmnd/pseuds/swtalmnd
Summary: Tony thinks about what really makes him happy over the years.(no Endgame spoilers for you or me, I haven't seen it yet)





	Happiness Is

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to give Tony some warm soft good feelings before I see Endgame in a few weeks (yes it's going to take me forever, no I don't want spoilers pls).
> 
> 25 down, 5 to go!

When DUM-E brings Tony his first tasty, poison-free cup of coffee, he wonders if this is what happiness feels like. He made this strange child with his brain and hands and, though he'd never admit it aloud, heart, and now it's giving something back to him that's nourishing more than his desperate need for caffeine.

The first time JARVIS anticipates Tony's needs and has the data ready before he can ask, Tony's pretty sure it's the same joy that parents feel when their kids do their chores unasked.

He feels terrible when he has to fish his kids out of the ocean in Malibu, but he fixes them up better than ever and apologizes both in English and code. They become the uppity grandpas of his New York lab, and he's relieved to find them safely ignored after Ultron. He's pretty sure parents aren't supposed to install their kids into an entirely new entity, and his emotions feel unmoored from reality for a while. He's a superhero, sure, but reincarnation was still meant to be a myth.

Tony tries to keep his heart safe from the Parker kid, but Peter worms his way in anyway, giving him infinite heart attacks and a boatload of pride. He didn't make this kid or even mentor him particularly well, so the pride feels unearned. He's got it anyway, and tries harder.

Laying out on the rooftop in the sun with Steve on one side and Bucky on the other, he wonders if he's allowed happiness now. Everything fell apart but they put it back together, and even though Pepper left he got a two for one deal when Steve taught all three of them how to love each other.

"Where'd you learn to love so much? To be happy?" asks Tony, laying his head on Steve's shoulder and his hand over Bucky's.

Steve chuckles. "Bucky. Howlies. Peggy. You." He kisses away Tony's objections at the last. "You loved behind the scenes, but it was still love. I never learned how to hide anything."

"Stevie's always worn his heart on his sleeve," says Bucky, voice a sleepy rumble. He laces their fingers together and steals a kiss for himself. "I ain't never had happiness that wasn't his fault somehow."

"I hear Pepper and Rhodey are pretty happy," muses Tony. "I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"You suck at feelings," teases Steve with a chuckle. "Speaking of which, how's Peter?"

"The kid's good. Growing up. Still determined to save us all." Tony snuggles in more, tugs until they're both cradling him. Here, he can be small, just for a little while. "He said it's like having three overprotective dads."

"He ain't wrong," says Bucky, kissing Tony's shoulder. "Look at you."

Steve chuckles. "Buck, you're the worst of us all."

"Still ain't wrong." They go quiet after that, soaking in the sunlight, and Tony's pretty sure that this is what happiness feels like. 

He hopes he gets to keep it this time.


End file.
